This invention relates to monitoring the operation of a component within a chiller system. In particular, this invention relates to monitoring the operation of the condensing unit of a chiller system.
Chiller systems which circulate water through a condensing unit usually include an evaporative cooling tower. Water in the evaporative cooling tower is cooled by exposure to outside air before returning to the condenser unit. The condenser unit utilizes the returned water to expel the heat of compression generated by a refrigerant circulating through the condenser unit. The water returning from the evaporative cooling tower may have picked up air borne contaminants when exposed to the atmosphere in the cooling tower. These contaminants will eventually build up on the interior wall of the tubing transporting the water through the condensing unit. This buildup or "fouling" of the tubing will adversely affect the transfer of heat from the refrigerant to the water.
The above fouling may go unnoticed when the chiller system is responding to relatively low cooling load demands during various times of the year. In this regard, the amount of heat removed from the refrigerant by a fouled tube may still be sufficient to allow the chiller system to adequately respond to any cooling demands placed upon it during the "off" seasons of the year. Such a fouled tube will however ultimately need to be repaired. Any servicing and repairing of the fouled tubing during the peak cooling season will impact the cooling of the office building when it is most needed.